NC BBQ lands in the ‘Top Chef’ spotlight. Look for these local pitmasters tonight
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- North Carolina pitmasters appear as guest judges on Top Chef: Carolinas Monday night.
- Cheftestants cook through the night while pitmasters tend the coals for hours.
- Sam Jones, Jake Wood, Matthew Register, Nathan Monk appear as guest barbecue judges.
The entire foodie nation will get a taste of North Carolina barbecue Monday night.
A lineup of some of North Carolina’s most celebrated pitmasters will appear on th newest episode of “Top Chef: Carolinas.”
The popular Bravo cooking competition is set in Charlotte this year, showcasing some of the cherished foodways of the Carolinas. So far, that has meant livermush and searingly spicy peppers like the Carolina Reaper.
Now, it’s time for whole hog barbecue to shine.
For Monday’s episode, the cheftestants will cook through the night, just seasoned pitmasters, tending the coals for hours and hours.
Appearing as guest judges for Monday night are some of the country’s top whole hog pitmasters, including many from North Carolina.
Here are the barbecue judges from NC:
- Sam Jones of Sam Jones BBQ (in Raleigh and Winterville) and Skylight Inn (in Ayden)
- Ryan Mitchell, son of famed NC pitmaster Ed Mitchell
- Jake Wood of Lawrence Barbecue in Cary
- Matthew Register of Southern Smoke in Garland
- Nathan Monk of Lexington Barbecue in Lexington
- Lewis Donald of Sweet Lew’s in Charlotte, which hosted the “Top Chef” contestants at the restaurant.
The barbecue legends posted on social media about appearing in the episode, which filmed in September 2025.
Jake Wood was in the process of reopening his Lawrence Barbecue in downtown Cary, but couldn’t turn down the call.
“What a fun time that was!” Wood said in a text message. “Almost said no to it because we were so busy trying to get the shop open. I sure am glad I went!”
This season has featured two North Carolina chefs as competitors, including the Triangle’s Oscar Diaz, who is behind the restaurants Little Bull, Aaktun and Tataco. He’s been one of the most popular and acclaimed North Carolina chefs since earning his first James Beard semifinalist mention in 2019 while chef at Cortez in Raleigh.
Chef Brittany Cochran of Charlotte was recently eliminated.
Triangle chefs Cheetie Kumar and Savannah Miller, a Top Chef finalist herself, have also been guest judges this season.
How to watch “Top Chef”
Catch the whole hog episode of Top Chef: Carolinas on Bravo at 9:30 p.m.
This story was originally published April 13, 2026 at 3:27 PM with the headline "NC BBQ lands in the ‘Top Chef’ spotlight. Look for these local pitmasters tonight."
